SKATE SHAVINGS -- News and Notes From Caps' Morning Skate

Matinee - Back from their first road journey of the young season, a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night, the Caps play the first of nine scheduled matinee matches this season when they host the Calgary Flames on Saturday. Washington had a dozen afternoon games last season, going 6-4-2, and it will be seeking its third straight win today. The Caps will be seeking a quick start and looking to guard against a letdown after a divisional contest on Thursday and with another road trip looming on Sunday.

"I think there's always a chance for a letdown," says Caps right wing Garnet Hathaway. "I think we've got to trust the process that we're working with right now. [Caps coach Peter Laviolette] knows how to motivate us, and he knows what inspires us for a game. You look at a game like [Thursday in New Jersey] and I think you could have probably asked the same question going into that game.
"You just played the Avalanche at home, and now you're going to New Jersey to play a team you beat eight times last year. Is there a chance for a letdown? Yeah. But it's the caliber of the team, knowing the situation they're in and having coaching staff and leaders that know where your opponent is at, too.
"Right now, we look at Calgary and say, 'They're coming off their first win of the season. They're feeling good. It was a road win, they're playing on the road again, they probably didn't skate [Friday], and if they did, it was a light skate.' I think that's one of our mindsets, knowing exactly how they're feeling about their game, where they are in their game and being able to match that. We never go into it with the mindset that it could be a letdown. We think, "Hey, this is something we can continue to build off.'"
The Caps conducted a well-attended optional skate on Friday, and they're slated to practice again on Sunday ahead of a flight to Ottawa for a Monday night game against the Senators.
"I think it starts at the top, with Lavi," says Caps center Nic Dowd. "And he's already put it into our brains. It's tough to get up and get ready, and then all of a sudden you're playing the game. That is challenging for some guys and there's an opportunity for a sleepy start there, especially for a hungry team coming in our building.
"But it's already been addressed, and I think it gives guys the opportunity to be aware - starting [Friday] all day - as opposed to at 11:15 a.m. in our meeting [on Saturday], saying, "Hey guys, it's time to wake.' I think guys came in and got what they needed to get [Friday]. And we should be aware that it's going to be a tough game."
On the positive side, the Caps are still excited about seeing some fresh opponents after spending the entirety of last season skating against the same seven foes.
"The first thing is I think we're excited to play someone outside of our conference," says Caps winger Daniel Sprong. "We got Tampa, Colorado and Calgary now. It's nice to see different teams, especially after last year playing those same seven teams. I think it's just exciting to see new teams. But we know we've got to come out with a good start when the clock starts, come out strong and keep playing the way we have as a team."
In The Nets - Vitek Vanecek has made three starts and Ilya Samsonov through Washington's first quartet of contests. Both have played well, and the Capitals are the only team in the NHL that has yet to trail on the scoreboard this season. The Caps have allowed an average of 25.3 shots per game in front of the youngest netminding tandem in the League.
After stopping 25 of 26 shots on Thursday in New Jersey, Vanecek will get a second straight start on Saturday against the Flames.
"The goalies are doing a great job, both of them," says Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov. "I know it might seem like they're young, but they're not really; they're at a perfect age where they can mentally handle everything and physically. And you know, they're friends, that's what surprised me more. They fight for the job, but at the same time, they're very tight friends and that's a big part of [goaltending coach] Scotty Murray. He built that spirit around them, and it's always nice to have a goalie coach like that."
Both goaltenders have given the Caps more than a chance to win every game, and both have made key saves at key times. But the 82-game season ahead is considerably longer than the 56-game sprint earlier in the year, and Washington will need both of them to be consistently strong over the long haul. Neither netminder has ever played in as many as 40 games in a season; Vanecek tops out at 39 games with AHL Hershey in 2016-17 and Samsonov peaked at 37 games with Hershey in '18-19.
Vanecek earned the opening night start, and he has blanked the opposition into the third period in each of his first three starts. Last season, Vanecek carried a shutout into the third period on nine occasions in 36 starts. In 14 of his starts last season, Vanecek did not yield a goal that put his team behind.
"I think it's really early," cautions Laviolette of Vanecek. "He's played well; I've said that. He got the nod to start in net, it was based on his training camp and the way he came back in and played. He hasn't done anything to make me think differently, but it's still early as well. We still have two good young goaltenders, and the fact that he's pushing and he is speaking with his game, I think that that's a really good sign."
For the Flames, we're expecting to see Jacob Markstrom in the net on Saturday. Markstrom was the third goaltender taken in the 2008 NHL Draft - the same draft that produced Braden Holtby in the fourth round - and the two goaltenders chosen ahead of him combined to play a grand total of three NHL games.
Now in his second season with Calgary, Markstrom comes into Saturday's game on the heels of a 33-save shutout over the Wings in Detroit on Thursday. Lifetime against Washington, he is 1-7-1 with a 3.23 GAA and an .898 save pct. in nine appearances.
All Lined Up - Here's how we believe the Caps and Flames will look when they take to the ice on Saturday afternoon at Capital One Arena:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 43-Wilson
39-Mantha, 20-Eller, 10-Sprong
73-Sheary, 24-McMichael, 77-Oshie
62-Hagelin, 26-Dowd, 21-Hathaway
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 3-Jensen
57-van Riemsdyk, 2-Schultz
Goaltenders
41-Vanecek
30-Samsonov
Extras
29-Lapierre
38-Cholowski
52-Irwin
Injured
19-Backstrom (hip, week-to-week)
CALGARY
Forwards
13-Gaudreau, 28-Lindholm, 19-Tkachuk
88-Mangiapane, 29-Dube, 24-Ritchie
20-Coleman, 11-Backlund, 18-Pitlick
17-Lucic, 23-Monahan, 22-Lewis
Defensemen
55-Hanifin, 4-Andersson
58-Kylington, 8-Tanev
6-Valimaki, 44-Gudbranson
Goaltenders
25-Markstrom
80-Vladar
Extras
16-Zadorov
42-Gawdin
Injured
15-Richardson (lower body)
26-Stone (COVID-19 protocol)